The Thangkerne Kaytetye bird app was launched at Neutral Junction School on 25 August 2015. This exciting digital language resource was developed by a team of Kaytetye speakers, working with linguist Myfany Turpin and Kaytetye educator Alison Ross. It is the latest product of a long standing research collaboration, aimed at supporting the teaching and learning of the Kaytetye language.
Kaytetye is a highly endangered Indigenous language spoken in the Barrow Creek region of the Northern Territory, Australia. The app was made for younger Kaytetye people so they can learn more about their language, culture and natural world. It contains recorded Kaytetye bird names, bird calls, pictures of birds from local photographers in Central Australia and Kaytetye language descriptions of cultural knowledge about birds.
This app was produced by Batchelor Institute’s Language Support Program for Central Australia and funded by the Australian Government’s Indigenous Languages Support Program. Research on Kaytetye birds was funded by the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (Grant 2006/7164) and Birdlife Australia (2013 Indigenous Grant for Bird Research and Conservation). The Kaytetye consultants included Hilda Ngamperle, Lena Ngamperle, Elsie Numina, Eileen Ampetyane, Harry Janima, Tommy Thompson and Carol Thompson. App development by Margaret Carew and Ben Foley.
For more information about the Thangkerne Kaytetye bird app visit: https://kaytetye.com.au/